A HISTORIC VENUE GETS ITS VOICE
7th Street Entry has been breaking bands for decades. The room never needed a louder system. It needed one that finally matched the intensity of what happens on stage. This is that system.
The 250-capacity room tucked inside First Avenue — Minnesota's most legendary music venue — operates on a simple, brutal premise: nothing between the band and the audience. No barriers, no buffer zone, no forgiveness.
When you're standing in the back of the room, you're still feet from the performer. When the band is cooking, you feel it in your sternum. That proximity is the point. Bands have been cutting their teeth in this room for decades. It's where artists play before anybody knows their name, and sometimes after everybody does.
"It's a wonderful little black sweaty box. What rock and roll should be."
— James Baker, Production Manager, First Ave. Productions
The boxes were hung at inconsistent angles with no coherent coverage pattern. Phase was a mess. Engineers had to treat the system as mono — not by choice, but because there was no stereo image to work with. The cabinets were physically large enough that a vocalist standing downstage would disappear behind the PA.
Feedback problems stacked on top of coverage problems. Engineers were burning time on EQ, chasing the system around the room instead of mixing the show. Monitoring the amplifiers meant physically walking to the amp rack in the back of the house.
For a venue that hosts shows almost every night of the year, every one of those problems compounds. The room deserved better gear. The engineers needed it.
"None of the boxes had consistent angles with each other, so coverage was all over the place, phase was all over the place. Size-wise, it really affected sightlines."
— Alex Johnson, Head of Audio, First AvenueElectro-Voice and Dynacord deployed a complete ground-up system: EVF G2 loudspeakers paired with Dynacord iX series amplifiers, networked over Dante, and controlled via SONICUE software from a TPC-1 touch panel. Every component was co-developed to work as a single platform — matched voicing, matched processing, unified preset management.
The EVF G2's smaller footprint immediately solved the sightline problem. Infinite Directivity Waveguides delivered consistent coverage across the full bandwidth of each box — eliminating the phase issues that had plagued the room for years. Stereo imaging became possible for the first time. And with every amplifier networked and controllable from the mix position, engineers could stop walking to the back of the room and start mixing the show.
"The difference was immediate. We went from fighting the system every night to just mixing music."
— Alex Johnson, Head of Audio, First AvenueWith a relationship between Electro-Voice Dynacord and First Avenue stretching back more than 20 years, 7th Street Entry was the obvious room for the very first EVF G2 installation. The local connection, with EV's engineering team based just south of the Minneapolis in Burnsville, MN, made this a natural fit.
First Avenue's production team had been documenting the room's acoustic challenges for over a decade — they knew exactly what they needed, and EV's engineers knew exactly how to deliver it. When EVF G2 was ready for its first real-world deployment, there was only one room that made sense.
"I could tell right away that it was going to be a massive improvement as far as fidelity. The PA had this punch that I really like about EV stuff, and I really wanted that in the Entry."
— Alex Johnson, Head of Audio, First AvenueThe system went in. The reviews started immediately. The coverage problems that defined the old system are gone. The new EVF G2 and iX setup maintains the room's reputation for raw power while adding a level of accuracy and transparency that the space never had. There isn't a bad seat in the house — for sound or for sightlines.
"There's this cool stereo spread. Vocals come through clean and natural, and the bass really kind of hits you right in the chest."
— Joe Lorence, Product Manager, Electro-Voice DynacordEngineers walking into 7th Street Entry for the first time are mixing shows, not fighting a PA. The high end is clear. The stereo image is real. The subs hit the way a rock club should hit.
"People are doing either very little or no EQ at this point. Which is huge. It tells me two things — one, that the system is tuned well and sounds great. And two, that it's stable."
— Alex Johnson, Head of Audio, First AvenueThat detail says more than any spec sheet. When visiting engineers stop reaching for the EQ, it means the system is doing its job so well that the room effectively disappears. The feedback from bands, promoter reps, and house engineers has been uniformly positive. Not politely positive. Enthusiastically positive.
"Nothing but positive feedback from all sides."
— James Baker, Production Manager, First Ave. ProductionsLA Buckner & BiG HOMiE performance at 7th Street Entry - the world's first EVF G2 installation.
7th Street Entry didn't need a louder system. It needed a smarter one. A system that solved real problems for real engineers without changing the things that already worked — the room's dimensions, its rigging infrastructure, its identity.
The Electro-Voice EVF G2 loudspeakers & Dynacord iX amplifiers were designed for exactly this scenario. Not products looking for a problem...but products offering solutions to real-world problems.
The room is still raw. Still intimate. Still the place where bands give everything they've got because there's nowhere to hide. The difference is that now the sound system gives everything back.
"This is the epicenter. This is where it's got to happen."
— James Baker, Production Manager, First Ave. Productions
Every component deployed at 7th Street Entry.
| Product | Position | Qty | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
EVF-15/64-B
15" Full-Range, 64°×40°
|
Left Mains + Right Main | 3 | Product Page → |
|
EVF-15/66-B
15" Full-Range, 66°×66°
|
Right Main | 1 | Product Page → |
EVF-12/64-B
12" Full-Range, 64°×40°
|
Right Outfill | 1 | Product Page → |
EVF-215S-B
Dual 15" Subwoofer
|
Subwoofers | 4 | Product Page → |
|
Dynacord iX 60:4
4-Ch DSP Power Amplifier
|
Amplification | 4 | Product Page → |
|
Dynacord iX 30:4
4-Ch DSP Power Amplifier
|
Amplification | 1 | Product Page → |
|
Dynacord TPC-1
Touch Panel Controller
|
System Control | 1 | Product Page → |
Dynacord SONICUE
System Software (Booth PC)
|
Software | — | Product Page → |
The biggest engineering challenge in the entire G2 development. The result is deceptively simple: the coverage pattern stays consistent across every octave the horn produces. Uniform tone across the full specified width. Clean overlap when you array multiple boxes. This technology builds on Electro-Voice's constant directivity horn work dating back to 1975 — fifty years of waveguide development distilled into a single component.
The new ND2 EVO uses an inverted diaphragm design that delivers more midband output, higher SPL, better linearity, and lower weight. All at once — not a tradeoff menu. Next-generation high-performance compression across the entire family.
New frames, new motors, longer excursion. The 12-inch models punch harder in the low end than they have any right to. All-new designs specific to EVF G2 and EVH G2 — not recycled from prior generations.
Physically smaller crossover circuit means lower signal loss. Paired with next-generation hybrid FIR presets: accurate frequency response, smooth phase across the crossover region, and low latency. Every model in the G2 family plays together seamlessly.
This one sounds small. It isn't. Dual removable Euroblock connectors accepting up to 10-gauge wire. An NL4 right on the panel for quick connections. One high-current switch for passive or bi-amp mode. And the gland nut cover — the part everyone forgot to order — is now included in the box.
Gen 1 had two tiers. Nobody loved choosing between high performance and budget constraints. G2 killed the tiered approach entirely. One performance level. The best technology. At a more aggressive price point than Gen 1. No compromise versions. No choosing.
Key improvements across the EVF G2 lineup.
The Dynacord iX series amplifiers weren't just selected for this install — they were co-developed alongside EVF G2. Matched output power, matched DSP processing, unified preset management. The amplifier and loudspeaker were designed as a single system from day one.
At 7th Street Entry, five iX amplifiers drive the entire system: four iX 60:4 units handling the mains and subs, and one iX 30:4 for the outfill. All networked, all monitored, all controllable from a single seat at FOH.
The TPC-1 touch panel and SONICUE software replaced what used to require a walk to the back of the house. System status, level adjustments, preset recall — everything happens from the mix position or from a tablet on stage. For a venue running shows almost every night, that's not a luxury. That's operational infrastructure.
4-Channel DSP Power Amplifier
4 × 1,500 W @ 4Ω
8×8 Dante Channels
4 Mic/Line Inputs
1,800 W Max Single Channel
× 4 units in this system
4-Channel DSP Power Amplifier
4 × 375 W @ 4Ω
8×8 Dante Channels
4 Mic/Line Inputs
1,000 W Max Single Channel
× 1 unit in this system
Touch Panel Controller + Software
5.7" Touch Display
SONICUE Control via PC, TPC-1, or iOS
Analogue + OCA/Dante Networking
Up to 16 Inputs / 8 Zones
Full system control from FOH
Electro-Voice EVF and EVH G2 loudspeakers, Dynacord iX amplifiers & Dynacord Sonicue software are all available now through authorized Electro-Voice Dynacord dealers worldwide.
